Ten-man Crowborough Athletic led 3-2 in stoppage time at National League South Hampton & Richmond. The FA Cup replay is at Fermor Road on Tuesday at 7.45pm.

Crowborough Athletic went to a club two steps above them, went down to ten men, and still came within a stoppage-time goal of the third qualifying round. Saturday’s FA Cup tie at National League South Hampton & Richmond Borough finished 3-3. The replay is at the Crowborough Community Stadium on Tuesday 22 September, kick-off 7.45pm. (Crowborough Athletic FC, fixtures)

The winner banks £3,375 and a place in the third qualifying round, two wins from the FA Cup first round proper.

How Saturday unfolded

The goals and cards as Crowborough’s own match centre records them (Crowborough Athletic FC, match centre):

  • 3 minutes: Mather scores for Hampton & Richmond.
  • 60 minutes: Elliot Duncan levels, assisted by Lucas Mvongo.
  • 71 minutes: George Hutcheon scores for Crowborough.
  • 78 minutes: Martin Grant saves a Hampton penalty.
  • 82 minutes: Harry Forster is sent off. Crowborough play the rest with ten.
  • 90 minutes: Duncan scores his second.
  • 90+3 minutes: Grego-Cox equalises for Hampton at 3-3.

So a side from the Isthmian League South East, at step 4 of the pyramid, was 3-2 up away at a step 2 club in stoppage time, a man short, having also survived a penalty. The club named Lucas Mvongo its star player.

Duncan also scored in both games of the Whyteleafe tie that set this one up: the late penalty in the 1-1 draw and the winner in the 92nd minute of the replay.

That makes five FA Cup games unbeaten this season: Guernsey beaten 5-0, Epsom & Ewell 3-0, the draw and replay win over Whyteleafe, and now Saturday. The cup form is the opposite of the league form, where Crowborough sit in the lower reaches of the Isthmian South East table after a slow start.

Hampton & Richmond’s own preview treated the visitors with respect. It picked out Duncan, six goals in ten appearances this season and recently past 100 for the club, and midfielder Rushaar Samuel-Smike, also on six. (Hampton & Richmond FC, fixture focus)

What the replay is worth

The FA pays through every qualifying round. From the published 2026-27 prize fund (The FA, Emirates FA Cup prize fund):

  • Second qualifying round winners: £3,375; losers £1,125
  • Third qualifying round winners: £5,625; losers £1,875

The run has already paid £4,819: £1,125 for beating Guernsey, £1,444 for Epsom & Ewell and £2,250 for Whyteleafe. Tuesday’s winner takes £3,375 either way, so this one tie is worth more than the first three rounds combined to whoever goes through.

What it means for you

This is the biggest home game of Crowborough Athletic’s season so far, and it is on a work night at 7.45pm. The ground is off Fermor Road, Jarvis Brook, TN6 3FY: turn off the A26 and follow the signs, with parking by the stadium. It is 25 to 30 minutes’ walk from Crowborough station, which is in Jarvis Brook rather than the town centre.

The club publishes admission for league games as £10 adults, £6 concessions and £2 under-16s, cash and card taken. It does not publish a separate cup price, so check before you go. (Crowborough Athletic FC, visiting us)

The usual caveat: non-league fixtures move. The club’s fixtures page is the thing to check on Tuesday afternoon, not this article.